What Happens In Summer

July is always a month of pondering for me. It’s one of my two favorite months of the year – with the other being August. I love summer- it’s my hands-down most treasured time of year, and with the glorious sun, the heat-like-hugs, easy-livin, sundresses, outdoor eating, endless walking outside, barbeques, lying in the park, being in nature- I just feel a sense of love and peace.

In the very beginning of July, though, there’s always a slight angst to my mental state. My usual work-travel schedule slows down and I have a pretty long work break, and that gives me time to think about all the things. I strongly believe that most of us, myself very much included, go around using work busy-ness as an excuse to not think about other parts of our lives and address deeper issues that may be going on. Big questions come up for me in July,, such as: “what am I doing with my life?” (Easy). And “how can I make way more money doing something different than what I’m doing now?” crosses my mind about a million and four times. Also “will I find a life-partner connection at some point in my life?” You know, the simple stuff.

I feel like it’s important to let the angst play out and to face the questions, instead of covering them up with even more busy-work. I try not to run from the angst, and instead to relax into it as much as I can, and know that it’s okay. It’s okay to question things. In fact, I believe questioning is crucial. On the other side of a repetitively angsty feeling is usually an important task and the path to some real change- but there’s the risk of possibly being uncomfortable for a bit.

Of course, you don’t want to simply have angst and anxiety run rampant through your mind. It’s important to slow down sometimes and change the subject- to walk into nature, meditate and let go, feel the sun on your face, listen to the ocean, eat good food with good friends. If anxiety comes up, let it be okay and eventually relax into it. The goal is to let the big future questions wash over you while still enjoying the now- even the silliest little details like cute dogs or long walks with cool trees.